Top roll weighting devices



July 3, 1.962 R. K. BUTLER 3,041,677

TOP ROLL WEIGHTING DEVICES Filed May 31, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Iaweuioai- Rz'cJaaadKBuZ'Zen cfltibr uey July 3, 1962 R. K. BUTLER TOP ROLL WEIGHTING DEVICES Filed May 31, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4:9 79 48 54 48 i i 48 L r nL' hfi* '-d U511 P 514 I I .v '1 40 40 40 M if 40 43 United States Patent 3,041,677 TOP ROLL WEIGHTING DEVICES Richard K. Butler, Whitman, Mass., assignor to Machinecraft, Inc., Whitman, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed May 31, 1960, Ser. No. 32,740 18 Claims. (Cl. 19267) This invention relates to spinning and roving frames, and forms a part of a comprehensive modernization of existing frames to improve and increase their production and make them easier to run. It has to do with the means of applying pressure to the top rolls of the pairs of opposed rolls which successively engage the several strands of textile fibers and travel at progressively increased speed, to attenuate or draw down the strands and I bring the fibers thereof into parallel relation. The rolls of each pair must be pressed strongly together in order to make them turn in unison and to enable them to grip the fibers, and for these purposes the top drawing rolls have been loosely mounted by their ends in cap bars a and pressed down against the bottom rolls by devices termed saddles bearing against the necks between the two bosses of each top roll, the saddles being conventionally pulled downward by suitable links and lever with weights hanging from the ends of the lever.

These hanging weights have well known drawbacks,

one of which is their tendency to swing and jump under the vibration of the spinning frame or the underlying mill floor, with resulting fluctuations of roll pressure which vary the grip of the rolls on the fibers, causing the fibers I quent intervals for various purposes, most commonly to clear them of fibers wrapped around them or adhering to them, and also to avoid the formation of flat places by continuedpressure on the cots while the machine is at rest.

To avoid these and other difficulties, many forms of springs have been proposed to weight the top rolls, thus obviating the erratic action of the hanging weights due to their inertia. When provided with suitable leverage for multiplying their power, these springs make itpossible to increase greatly the weighting of the rolls as required in the long-draft spinning of synthetic fibers, where a weighting of 200 lbs. or more is often used, divided between the front, middle and back top rolls serving the two strands being drafted by the respective bosses of these three rolls. However, the space between the drawing rolls and the roller beam on which they are mounted in the conventional type of spinning frame aifords scant room for these springs, their perches, and the necessary levers or other devices for-compressing or unloading the springs so as to permit the weighting and unweighting of the rolls, and hence it has been the practice to mount the springs as well as certain of their appurtenances beneath the roller beam, running the links or stirrups or other tractive elements through holes in the roller beam so as to reach up and connect with the saddles which bear down on the roll necks. While this does get the springs under the shelter of the roller beam so that they collect little or no lint to fall off in bunches and get caught and twisted into the yarns to lower their quality, it leaves the roller beam obstructed by the stirrups and sp'ringcompressing or unweighting levers or devices. Not

. the top rolls when the pairs of drawing rolls and the only does this arrangement make it more difiicult and 3,041,677. Patented July 3, 1962 'ice time-consuming to keep the roller beam cleared of the ever-present lint and fly, but it makes it extremely diflicult to equalize the pressure on all the top rolls and to change the total weighting of the top rolls as required when the size of yarn and character of fiber to be spun are to be changed.

Another alternative form of spring weighting in common use employs a top arm, so-called, a channel member of inverted U-shape overlying the necks of the front, middle and back top rolls, each roll being held by its neck in an end of a short arm pivoted by its rear end within the channel and with a spring compressed between the web of the channel member and the roll-holding end of the arm to press the arm and thus the top roll downward, these devices usually also positioning the top roll without the use of cap bars. Thus each top roll has its own spring to weight it, the channel member being removably clamped down over the three lines of rolls. While this form greatly simplifies the unweighting and reweighting of the top rolls, and leaves the roller beam uncluttered and accessible, it is impossible to change the total weighting or the relative weighting of a set of front, middle, and back rolls except through the substitution of different springs throughout the entire frame, which takes two men about three days to do, there being three or more springs to be changed for each pair of the 240 or more spindles in the frame.

It is the. main object of this invention to avoid these shortcomings of the prior structures, so as to provide an improved spring-weighting device for the top rolls which can be cheaply and easily manufactured almost wholly out of commercially available for-ms of steel stock, which will permit changing the roll weighting through a wide range, which will leave the roller beam unobstructed and will itself afford a minimum of lint collecting surfaces, and which will make it quick and easy to unweight the top rolls and disconnect the linkage from the saddle or other pressure device as well as to reweight the rolls, by means accessible from in front of the frame and above the roller beam.

A further object is to provide apt means for weighting strands passing through them are disposedin a plane at a high angle to the roller beams top surface. The force used to press the rolls together needs to be exerted substantially at right angles to such plane for efficiency. Hence spring or dead weighting from below the roller' beam is practically precluded, and dead weighting above the roller beam is impossible, for lack of space. A new way of arranging the spring weighting above the beam is required which will be convenient and accessible for applying, releasing, and changing the weighting, without encroaching on the creel area and interfering with the supply of roving bobbins therein which feed the drawing rolls. 7

Other objects of the invention and the manner of their attainment are as set forth hereinafter.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: .FIG. 1 is a vertical transverse section through the roller beam, top and bottom drawing rolls and back bar of a spinning frame adjacent one of the roll stands, showing the top rolls and their guiding and positioning means,

' r 3 drafting spinning frame ofCotchett Patent No. 2,865,057,

granted Dec. 23, 1958. Herein a roll stand 1 supports the bottom drawing rolls 3, 5, 7, with the drafting plane,

, defined by the paths of the strands 9 being drawn and the :nips-of these rolls whichdraw-them, at astccp angle of around 60 from the horizontal surface of roller =beam'1 1. The-top rolls 13, 15, 17 are'of the type devoid of pintles'or gudgeons-on their ends.- The-means of holdingthe top rolls in working relation'with their respective bottom rolls is of the so-called capbarless type in which overlapping-members 19, -21 of inverted -U-section hold the --top rolls by their necks alone and serve to posi- "-tin and guide the top rollsandalsoactas saddle means *to apply -to them the weighting pressure created by the devices of the present invention. These members 19,

21am slotted at their rear ends and both are hooked over a stub shaft 23 mounted on the regular back bar 25 which guides the-strand'9 of roving being taken from a supply bobbin in thecreel (not shown), preferably that of my companionpatent application Serial No. 783,902, filed Dec. 30, 1958, devised to take full advantage of the additional space provided for thesupply bobbins by the steeply tilted drafting plane.

The'bottom roll bearings 27, 29, 31 are mounted on roll stand l-with capa'city for'adjustment toward and'from each other to vary-the roll setting as needed, by means of cap screwsSS-put through longitudinal slots in the roll -slide 340 of the stand -1. The-top -roll guiding members '19, 21, are made extensiblefor the same purpose.

Inaccordance with the present invention, each top roll guiding member 19-is connected by its hook 35- and a sheet metal stirrup 37, having an elongated hole or slot t at each end, with anotherhook 39 formed on a weighting or loading lever 41 pivotedatdl between two integral spaced-lugs 44 extending from the side of a casting 43 of tubular cylindrical form equipped with oppositely I extending mounting lugs 40 at its upper end, whereby it is mounted by screws 48 in register with a suitable aperture 34 in one Web of an angle iron rail 49 mounted 'adjacent'the bottom r011 hearings in a manner to be described at the under side of-bearing slide 340 of stand 1.

'Within the bore'of casting 43 is fixed, as by press-fitting, a cylindrical sleeve or capsule 45 of seamless steel tubing 4 i and back top roll 17. It is transmitted by a roller 59 I engaging with the underside of member 19 within the channelthereof and positioned by a mount 58 fixed on the member 21 with capacity for adjustment lengthwise of member Z1. By this adjustment, the weighting thus applied to the middle and back top rolls is divided between themasdesired, l

v 'Allthe "springs 46 in use ataigiveutime on the spinning frame are carefully calibrated-in advance to have a known and equal'strength when compressed to the same overall length. The screw, plugs 50 are the means for compressing the springs all to the same length, and hence for obtaining uniform weighting of the rolls throughout the spinning frame, assuming of course that'the devices are properly mountedand that uniform distribution is made of the weighting delivered to the front, middle and back top 'rolls by each spring and stirrup by the means just delength is mounted by bolts 61 upon a short length 63 of extending through the hole 34 in rail 49 and forming the ,guide, container and lint-shield for an expanding 'coil spring 46.

The capsule is internally threaded at 'its free end Thusthe force (if-spring 46 exerted on arm 47 strives to rotatethe-loading lever counterclockwise about pivot 42,

and in so doing urges stirrup 37 in a direction at right 'anglesto-theguiding, positioning andweighting members 19 and 21.

The pull of stirrup 37 is delivered through hook 35 to the top member'19, Within the channel ofwhich the hook -35 is mo'unted by cap screws 5-3 and washers with capacity for adjustment at right angles to the roll axes along a longitudinal slot formed for the screw in member '19.

A part of the load thus applied to top member 19 isjusedto weight the front top roll 13, being delivered 'directlyto the neck, of front top roll13aby means ofthe goosene'ck extension of member 19*. This gooseneck -toreceive-acylindrical threaded plug 50 against which thecoil spring-4 6 rests as its perch. Within the other 'end of the spring is fitted a flanged header plug or'plunger 1 51 slidingfreely inside capsule 45 and against which the spring exerts its-force and which thus transmits the spring pressure to an arm 47 forming an integraljpart of the loading lever 41 andso disposed'with respect to hook 39 and pivot 42 as to form a bell-crank transmitting the force of'spring 46 as a tractive force to stirrup 37.

versely of'rail 49 as-far as the stirrup permits.

upon screws-48 are tightened to fix the device in its work- .ing position.

similar angle iron fixed by one flange to the under side of roll slide 340 by the same bolt 33 which fixes the middle-bottom roll bearing 29 in position on the slide 340. The rail 49 being thus suspended frorn'the middle bot tom roll bearings, whenever'these rollbearings are shifted to vary the roll setting (spacing), by loosening the bolts 33 and sliding these parts along the slides-340, the rail 49 and the spring-weighting-devices retain their initial position with respect to the middle rolls and'are-automatically shifted along the roll slides with'these bearings.

Hencelhe spring-weighting devices are maintained always in the same spacedand angular relation to'the middle drawing rolls with their roll-Weighting force unchanged regardless of changes in rollsettings, since any adjustment of bearings 29 along the stands 1 carries with -it'the junction pieces=63 and'the le'ngthsof rail 49'with their spring capsules :43, 4S.

"Botlrthe holes 34 in rail-49 in'whichthe spring-weighting devices are mounted, and? the .holes'therein forscrews 48, are made oversized to allow adjustment of each spring-weighting device up or down and laterally.

In installing the novel'weighting.system, and to attain uniforrnitylof theieffective roll-weighting force of the several devices throughout'the.spinning1frarne, a gage in the form of a simple narrow strip .of metal of uniform thickness is inserted and gripped between an arm or stop 67 on lever 41 and't'he confronting surface/63 of the casting 43- of each successive device to be installed. With the'several weighting devices loosely mounted in their holes 34 and :with their lugs Iii-against therail 49, and with the gage-still in place, thestirrup 37 er each device in turn is engaged with hooks 35'and 39 and the weighting device slid downward and rearward trans- There- The gage is then withdrawn. In this manner all the weighting devicesare'made to exert the same loading force on the top rolls, since the forces resulting from the combined spring'tension and leverage are equal fromunit to unit throughout the frame, when the'hand 'levers'41 are each at the same angle to the axis of the capsule and spring, which is the result of this method of installation.

A novel advantage flows from'this'arrangement. The hand levers serve as indicators of the uniformity of loading throughout the frame. Any hand lever 41 that is out of line with the rest of the hand levers in the rank extending throughout the lengthof the-frame is necessarily exerting greater or lesser weighting; on its stirrup because and removal of the gage.

To unweight the top rolls for removal and replacement, or when the machine is idle, the hand lever 41 is momentarily pulled forward and upward manually by means of its finger piece 65. This causes arm 47 to act as a cam forcing the plunger 51 inward and relieves the pull of the hook 39 on the stirrup 37, which falls oif from the hook as soon as the latter clears the bottom of the slot in the stirrup. As the attendant releases the lever 41 stop 67 thereon engages the wall 68 of casting 43 and keeps the lever from swinging back out of convenient reach. Stirrup 37 is then easily unhooked from hook 35, and the guiding, positioning and weighting members 19, 21 are free to be lifted off successively, carrying with them the top rolls, after freeing the aprons.

Re-weighting is accomplished in obvious manner, stirrup 37 being re-engaged with book 35 on member 19 and with hook 39 on the hand lever after the latter has been raised to bring hook 37 above the end of its slot in the stirrup. Release of the hand lever reinstates the load of spring 46 on the, stirrup and parts connected therewith.

The unweighting and re-weighting are one-hand operations, requiring only a moments time and very little physical effort, on account of the favorable leverage afforded by the handle. By lifting the lever with the palm of his hand, the attendant can easily guide the stirrup slot over the hook 39 with the fingers of the same hand. The bottom end of the stirrup is preferably forked below the slot which receives the hook 39, so that the forked end can be placed astride the shank of the lever 41 and thus serve to eflect rapid alignment of the stirrups slot with hook 39 as the stirrup is slid along the handle toward the hook.

As noted, when it is desired to change the Weighting applied by the respective weighting devices, i.e., the total weighting applied to all three top rolls weighted by a single spring, the coil springs 46 are simply put under more compression to get heavier weighting, or their tension is relieved to get lesser weighting, by screwing the plug 50 in or out with a screw-driver. The extent of protrusion or intrusion of the respective plugsSil gives visual indication of the relative tension of the several springs.

Where changes in roll pressure beyond the range of one set of springs 46 are needed, other springs of the required tension are substituted throughout the frame for those initially used in the capsules 45.

The improved structure is of course applicable to spinning frames of types employing cap bars and saddles for guiding and Weighting the top rolls, the stirrup 37 or its equivalent being attached to the forepart of the saddle in usual or any preferred manner.

The device of the present invention attains the known advantages of spring-weighting over dead-weighting in a form in which uniform weighting of all the corresponding rolls is attained and demonstrated, and weighting and un-weighting is quick and easy; in which the amount of weighting can be accurately predetermined and is capable of adjustment as desired within an ample range, with further capacity for change to a higher or lower range. It attains these advantages while additionally leaving the roller beam clear and unobstructed, and while itself providing a minimum of surfaces on which lint can collect and those easily cleaned. Further, and most important from the standpoint of its usefulness, the application and release of the roll-loading pressure is eflfected entirely from the spinners usual position while standing erect in front of the frame, by touch alone, sight unseen. The structure is cheaply and easily made from stock of standard commercially available forms, with a minimum of machiming and no critical dimensions, and is adapted for installation in new frames and also in various existing frames, for converting and modernizing them in the interest of greater economy.

A still further advantage is that since all the springs react wholly against parts mounted on the roll stands and not on the roller beam, the forces created by the weighting means are confined to the parts of and on the roll stands, with no forces acting between the roll bearings, and the roller beam to require strong and hence heavy roll stands to sustain them. Thus light-weight roll stands 1 made from standard commercial steel stock by simple bending and punching operations are adequate where previously much costlier cast-iron roll stands have been required. This economy of weight and cost is of course additional to that attained through obviating the rugged construction of both spinning frames and mill buildings which gravity type dead-weighting of the top rolls required.

While I have illustrated and described a certain form in which the invention may be embodied, I am aware that many modifications may be made therein by any person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the particular form shown, or to the details of construction thereof, but what I -do claim is; I v

1. A spinning frame having in combination top and bottom drawing rolls, a roller beam, roll stands, means overlying and engaging the necks of the top rolls, a' rail mounted on the roll stands extending parallel to the rolls, coil springs in fixed locations on the rail in spaced relation to the roll stands and with their axes parallel to the common plane defined by the nips of the rolls, and means transmitting tension from the springs to the means engaging the roll. necks.

2. A spinning frame having in combination front, middle and back top rolls, front, middle and back bottom rolls, rollstands, bearings for the bottom rolls on the roll stands, of which the middle bottom roll bearings are shiftable along the roll stands to vary the roll spacing a rail suspended from the middle bottom roll bearings, and spring roll weighting means mounted on the rail and weighting the top rolls.

3. A spinning frame having in combination top and bottom drawing rolls, bearings for the bottom rolls, a roller beam, roll stands on the roller beam each having a portion forming a roll-bearing slide, a rail spanning the space between one roll stand and the next roll stand and adjustable along the bearing slide transversely of the roller beam, a plurality of coil springs mounted on the rail in spaced relation to the roll stands, means overlying I and engaging the necks of the top rolls, and means transabove the roller beam, coil springs mounted on the, rail with their axes parallel to the paths of the strands through the rolls, and means transmitting tension from the springs to the top rolls.

5. A spinning frame having in combination top and bottom drawing rolls, a roller beam, roll guiding and positioning means holding the top rolls in cooperating relation to the bottom rolls by their necks alone, roll stands,- bearings for the bottom rolls mounted on the roll stands,

with capacity for adjustment of their relative spaced relation, and coil springs weighting the roll guiding and positioning means and mounted on the roll stands with capacity for shift with the bearings along the roll stands.

6. The combination according to claim 5 in which the ':coil springs are automatically shifted in unison with certain ofthebottom roll bearings duringthe adjustment of .the latterslelativ'e spaced relation.

7. A spinning .frame having in combination topand bottom drawing rolls, a roller beam, roll-guidingv and paced relation, a rail suspended from certain bottom roll'bearings, springs mounted on therail and adapted to exert a'force in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the hearings in adjusting their spaced relation, and means transmitting the said force to the roll- ,guiding and positioningrneans in a direction at right angles'to its initial direction, whereby to'weight the top rolls.

8. A spinning frame having in combination a roller .-beam,--roll stands thereon, top and bottom drawing rolls disposed with their nips all in a common plane, a member mounted on'the roll stands below the rolls and extending parallel tot-he bottom rolls, spring guides fixed on the member and extending angularly therefrom and parallel to the said plane, expanding coil springs within the guides, weight-applying means engaging the top rolls, and means transmitting the force of the springs to the weightapplying means at right angles tosuch plane.

9. A spinning frame having in combination top and bottom drawing rolls having their nips disposed in a common plane, a roller beam, roll stands, weight-applying means engaging atop roll, amember below and parallel toithe rolls and hired by both its ends to the roll stands and having atransverse hole, a tubefixed-in the hole in the member with its axis parallel to the common plane, an expanding coil spring within the tube, and a plunger also within the tube and adapted to actuate the weightapplyin'g means and biased-by the axis of the spring.

10. A spinning frame having in combination top and bottom drawing rolls; roll stands, weight-applying means engaging the top rolls, a member having its ends fixed to the roll stands, a tubular spring guide fixed in'a hole in the member, an expanding coil spring'retained within the guide, a stirrup attached to the weight-applying means, a plunger in the guide receiving the thrustof the spring, a pivot laterally offset from the spring, and a bell-crank pivoted thereon engaged by the plunger and transmitting the thrust applied thereto by the spring as a tractive force to the stirrup.

11. Spring Weighting means for the top rolls ofa spinning frame,.having in combination roll stands, weightapplying means engaging the top rolls, a plunger in connection with the weight-applying means, an expanding coil springbiasing the plunger and through it the weightapplying means, a sleeve about thespring andin fixed connection with the-roll stands, and lever means fulcrumed on the sleeve and adapted-to compress the spring and relieve the bias of the weight-applying means.

12. Aspinnin'g frame having in combinationtop and bottom drawing rolls, :a roller beam, roll stands on the latter, means overlying and engaging the necks of a plurality of the top rolls, a plurality of equally stressed coil springs, means mounting the coil springs in adjustable positions onthe roll stands, and means transmitting tension from the springs to the .respectivemeans overlying and engaging the rollnecks, including levers transmitting equal tension when at equal angles to the axes of their respective coil springs, suchangl'es being established 'by adjustment of the positions of'th'e springs on the stands.

13. A spinning frame having in combination top and bottom drawing rolls, a roller beam, roll stands on such beam, roll-weighting means adapted to load the top rolls, a plurality of coil springs having equal strength when compressed to the same length, means mounting the coil springs in adjustable positions and in parallel relation to each other on the roll stands, and means transmitting the force .of the springs to the roll-Weighting means including levers compressing the respective springs to equal lengths when at the same angle tothe axes of their respective springs, and visually demonstrating unequal spring compression and resulting unequal roll-weighting by a different angular position to the axes of their respective springs.

14. A spinning frame having in combination top and bottom drawing rolls, a roller beam, roll stands, bearings for the bottom rolls on the stands, a spring supported by the bearings, weighting means engaging the top roll necks, means transmitting the springs force to the weightingmeans, and means for varying the point of application of the springs force to the weighting means.

15. The combination according to claim 14 having means for 'varyingthe total force applied by the spring to the weighting means. 7

16. A spinning frame having in combination opposed top and bottom drawing rolls, a roller beam, roll stands, means overlying-and engaging the necks of aplurality of the top rolls, a coil spring, means mounting the coil spring on the roll stands below the rolls with the springs axis below and parallel tothe common plane defined by the nips of the rolls, and tractive means connecting the spring and the means overlying and engaging the roll necks.

17. The combination according to claim 16 including means providing for shift of the point of connection of the tractive means with the means overlying the roll necks in a direction at right angles to the roll axes.

18. A spinning frame having in combination opposed top and bottom drawing rolls, a roller beam, rollstands, means overlying and engaging the necks of a plurality of the top rolls, a coil spring, means mounting the .coil spring on the roll stands with its axis below and parallel to the common plane defined by the nips of the rolls, tractive 'means connected to the meansoverlying and engaging 'the roll necks and disposed atan angle to the springs axis, and a bell-crank transmitting tension from the spring to the tractive means.

References Cited in the ifile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,241,586 r Vales et-al. Oct. 2, 1917 1,831,231 Dixon -s Nov. 10, 1931 2,203,424 Walsh June 4, 1940 2,332,973 Louie Oct. 26, 1943 2,373,176 Dickison Apr. 10, 1945 2,688,162 Balmes Solanas Sept. 7, 1954 2,707,807 De Santis May 10, 1955 2,787,025 'Balmes Solanas Apr. 2, 1957 2,865,057 Cotchett et a1 Dec. 23, 1958 

